Statements of Expectations and Intent

In January 2024, Minister for the Arts, The Hon Tony Burke MP outlined the annual Statement of Expectations for National Archives of Australia.

The statement outlined strategic priorities aligned with the Australian Government's National Cultural Policy, Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place.

National Archives of Australia responded with a Statement of Intent outlining the activities we will undertake to deliver on the minister's expectations.

Statement of Expectations

I am writing to set out my expectations of the National Archives of Australia (National Archives).

As you are aware, the Prime Minister, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP and I launched the National Cultural Policy Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place on 30 January 2023. This sets Australia's cultural policy for the next five years. As one of the nine National Collecting Institutions in the Arts portfolio, the National Archives is vital to Australia's cultural sector and has an important role to play in achieving the National Cultural Policy outcomes.

The National Collecting Institutions hold a special place in Australia's cultural infrastructure. They preserve, share and celebrate our stories, reflect our diversity and creativity, and inspire audiences to learn, imagine and create. Revive also recognises their pivotal roles in supporting truth-telling for First Nations people and fostering international collaboration and cultural exchange.

The five interconnected pillars of Revive strongly resonate with the objectives and aims of the National Collecting Institutions. Sitting across these pillars are ten principles which recognise that galleries, libraries, archives and museums sector is an essential part of the Australian arts ecology. I acknowledge the National Archives' commitment to these pillars and principles in its work in Australia and internationally.

I ask that the National Archives clearly reflect the aims of Revive in its purpose as articulated in its Corporate Plan, noting that the Policy is aimed at guiding the Australian Government's actions and investment over the next five years. It is also important for the National Archives to report against its delivery of Revive in its Annual Reports.

I expect the National Archives to focus on the following strategic priorities over the next year:

  • provide strong leadership and foster collaboration within national and international archives and record keeping sectors to promote the five pillars of Revive;
  • ensure policies and procedures are in place to promote diversity, sustainability, reconciliation and inclusion;
  • ensure it has a current Disability Action Plan in place to support people with disability to participate fully in Australia's cultural and creative life;
  • continue to foster appreciation and understanding of First Nations arts, culture and knowledge systems, and contribute to a professional, viable and ethical First Nations engagement with archives in line with the principle that First Nations arts and culture are First Nations led;
  • provide greater opportunities for all Australians to access arts and culture, including through a diverse range of exhibitions, programs, events and digital offerings; and
  • engage in activities to enrich archival and cultural education at all levels.

Revive is underpinned by commitments to recognise the value of Australia's cultural and creative practitioners, to create safe and secure workplaces (including cultural safety), and to provide sustainable pathways for cultural sector workers throughout the different stages of their careers. Creative Workplaces and its Council in Creative Australia have been established to support workers across the cultural and creative sectors to have safe and inclusive workplaces. Compliance with codes of conduct developed by Creative Workplaces will be a condition of Government funding.

In addition, I expect the National Archives to work cooperatively with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts and other portfolio agencies, especially the other National Collecting Institutions, to deliver the many relevant actions outlined in Revive including the modernisation of the Archives Act 1983. This also includes supporting the telling of First Nations stories in the cultural sector, partnering with other cultural institutions to display works from the national collections, and the review of policies and frameworks such as Significance 2.0.

Funding Commitment

As you are aware, the Government made a landmark funding commitment to the National Collecting Institutions in the 2023-24 Budget, which is designed to respond to legacy issues. For the National Archives this represents an uplift in funding of $36.5 million over four years, with an additional $8.2 million per annum (indexed and ongoing) increase to funding from 2027-28 to protect existing jobs, support long-term financial sustainability and allow the National Archives to maintain and manage the national collection. The funding provides certainty for future activities to preserve, protect and celebrate Australia's stories and history.

While decisions about the expenditure of available resources appropriately remain subject to Accountable Authority decisions, I expect that the allocation of Government funding across staffing, suppliers and asset replacement should be responsibly prioritised by need within the allocation. The financial sustainability element of this additional funding is designed to make it affordable to maintain existing staffing levels, upgrade information technology infrastructure and support the National Archives' budget sustainability.

Information management

I note the recommendations of the Auditor-General Report No.44 of 2022-23 Management of Information Assets and the National Archives' role in supporting Commonwealth entity and company compliance with the Building trust in the public record: managing information and data for government and community policy (Building Trust policy). I expect that the National Archives will engage with other Commonwealth entities and companies to ensure successful implementation of the Building Trust policy, and play an influencing role in Australian Public Service professionalism in record-keeping.

In addition to your role supporting Commonwealth entities and companies, National Archives should be an exemplar in having established governance and reporting arrangements for internal information management consistent with the Archives Act 1983 and the Building Trust policy.

Additional reporting

The Government is committed to fiscal responsibility and transparency. As you are aware, each National Collecting Institution is now required to provide biannual updates about its financial performance, including funded and unfunded capital asset maintenance. This is a new reporting requirement, in addition to what is required under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. The biannual reports will inform the Government of current financial performance and raise awareness of forecast funding pressures.

It is important that the National Archives maintains an accurate Asset Management Plan to enable capital maintenance to be managed proactively to protect the collection, and keep workplaces safe, efficient and suitable for visitors. The additional reporting requirements will inform the process for any future funding considerations and it will therefore be necessary to identify any capital works funding pressures through the biannual reports.

I expect the National Archives to continue to effectively manage its available resources and ensure that any future funding requests are limited to essential needs and are cost-effective. I trust you will continue to keep inform me informed of any significant events or developments related to the National Archives' activities and functions.

l look forward to your response in the form of a Statement of Intent as to how the National Archives will meet the Government's expectations. This Statement of Expectations and your corresponding Statement of Intent form an important component of your organisation's governance framework. As such, I expect both documents will be made publicly available. I am writing to all National Collecting Institutions in similar terms and have copied this letter to Dr Denver Beanland AM, the Chair of the National Archives of Australia Advisory Council.

I wish the National Archives every success in meeting its objectives and in continuing to contribute to the cultural growth of Australia, including through supporting the objectives of Revive.

National Archives Statement of Expectations 2024-25 (PDF 1.3MB)

Statement of Intent

National Archives will undertake a range of activities that support the Statement of Expectations, outlined below.

Provide strong leadership and foster collaboration within national and international archives and record keeping sectors to promote the 5 pillars of Revive

National Archives actively supports the preservation of documentary heritage through information and data management roles to secure, digitise, preserve and facilitate access to government information, as well as through archival and research partnerships and public and education programs.

National Archives' participation in peak bodies representing the archival, information management and cultural sectors will continue this year, including:

  • active membership of the Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities (CAARA) which comprises the heads of the government archives authorities of the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and each of the Australian states and territories. The aims of CAARA include collaboration across the jurisdictions, identifying and responding to emerging issues on government archives and records management and being an advocate for government archives and records management.
  • active membership of the International Council on Archives (ICA) and its Pacific Regional Branch (PARBICA), which supports the ICA's leadership and collaboration in archival policy, research, skills development and capability development programs, education, conferences and information sharing fora
  • the Director-General being a member of the Forum of National Archivists Steering Committee, which is the lead body for national archives around the world, supporting ICA members to develop strategic responses to contemporary archive management challenges
  • maintaining our membership of GLAM Peak, which includes contribution to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
  • liaising and actively supporting key professional groups including: Records and Information Management Practitioners Alliance (RIMPA Global), the Australian Society of Archivists (ASA) and the Data Management Association of Australia (DAMA).
  • participating in Australian Government information and data management groups such as the Data Champions Network.

Our leadership and collaboration extends internationally, supporting the sharing of knowledge and expertise between institutions. We have memorandums of understanding in place or planned with Archives Nationales (France), National Archives of India, Archivo General de la Nación de México (National Archives of Mexico), Arhivele Naţionale ale României (National Archives of Romania) and National Archives and Public Records Services of Papua New Guinea. National Archives will also continue to engage with archival organisations across the Asia-Pacific region as a leading member of PARBICA.

National Archives also acknowledges expectations around collaboration with the Department and other portfolio agencies, in particular NCIs, to deliver on relevant actions in Revive, including the modernisation of the Archives Act 1983 (Archives Act) and supporting the telling of First Nations stories. Examples of collaboration with other portfolio agencies include:

  • collaborating with other NCIs in support of the Strengthening Democracy Taskforce, to build a resilient Australian democracy.
  • partnering with national and local cultural institutions to deliver promotional, access and research activities to support engagement with all the national cultural collections, such as supporting the Museum of Australian Democracy to celebrate its 100-year building anniversary in 2027.
  • supporting the management, care and access to local collections by contributing to the Cultural Heritage Grants program in partnership with the National Library of Australia and other institutions.
  • supporting research into the national archival collection through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Projects, building knowledge of the collection and identifying different stories to connect and engage with audiences.

Ensure policies and procedures are in place to promote diversity, sustainability, reconciliation and inclusion

National Archives will continue to implement policies and procedures that promote diversity and inclusion within the workplace. Our Diversity Plan 2022–25 has a specific focus on increasing the representation of people with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and young people (aged less than 25 years). In 2024, National Archives completed an inclusive position assessment to understand the physical and cognitive demands of all roles and options. As a result, National Archives is implementing a range of initiatives to support increased workforce representation of under-represented people, improve awareness of diversity issues, promote an inclusive culture and deliver a barrier free and flexible workplace.

National Archives acknowledges that Revive is underpinned by commitments to recognise the value of creative and cultural works and create safe workplaces for those practitioners. We will continue to implement measures to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce, and invest in the professional development of employees so that they are supported to succeed in their current roles and progress their careers in the cultural sector.

Consistent with Revive's first pillar, we continue to embed a 'First Nations First' approach, not only as a key priority, but as central to how we carry out all aspects of our work. National Archives is developing a renewed Reconciliation Action Plan, which will be in place by July 2024. National Archives recognises that evidence and stories in archival documents play an important role in redress and truth-telling for First Nations people and others impacted by past events. Further detail regarding our work to engage and develop relationships with First Nations people is outlined below.

We will also ensure that our public engagement programs and services are welcoming and delivered in safe environments that foster inclusion and diversity, and support national programs such as NAIDOC Week, Reconciliation Week and International Day of People with Disability.

National Archives also recognises integrity reform work occurring across the Australian Public Service, and we are developing an integrity framework which, in addition to clearly defining expectations on integrity within the agency, promotes and emphasises an integrity culture.

We will continue to implement initiatives that reduce the impact of our operations on the environment, including implementation of our Environmental Sustainability Policy which seeks to improve environmental performance, including meeting the Australian Government target of net zero emissions by 2030.

Ensure it has a current Disability Action Plan in place to support people with disability to participate fully in Australia's cultural and creative life

As noted above, National Archives has a Diversity Plan 2022-25 to improve diversity in the workforce. National Archives will build on that plan and develop a Disability Inclusion Action Plan which seeks to eliminate disability discrimination across the agency, including for our audiences. The plan will seek to:

  • understand barriers that may stop people with disabilities accessing our exhibitions, programs and events and detail actions to remove those barriers
  • commit to create programs and services, content and experience for all our audiences and ensure they are universally accessible regardless of the platform or location
  • explore ways to provide 'quiet hours' for audiences looking for less stimulation and desensitised environments
  • create an accessible and inclusive workplace culture and environment and strategies to attract, recruit and retain employees living with disability.

Continue to foster appreciation and understanding of First Nations arts, culture and knowledge systems, and contribute to professional, viable and ethical First Nations engagement with archives in line with the principle that First Nations arts and culture are First Nations led

National Archives will continue to build and strengthen its relationship with First Nations people and adopt a 'First Nations First' approach to our work. We recognise the importance of preserving for future generations at-risk First Nations cultural material. Our approach to First Nations collaboration and engagement is supported by:

Through the lens of First Nations people, we will deliver onsite, online and offsite public programs that connect and engage people with services, programs and collections. We will continue to support truth-telling of First Nations histories and stories through initiatives such as:

  • the Bringing Them Home name index which helps First Nations people use archival records to find information about themselves, their Country and their history. National Archives has established, or is working towards establishing, memorandums of understanding with organisations at a local and national level, such as LinkUp and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), to facilitate access to the index in a secure and culturally appropriate manner
  • prioritisation of the digitisation of First Nations records held in the Northern Territory repository. Given the high proportion of First Nations records, including sensitive and potentially confronting content, National Archives has selected Monash University to conduct a scoping study to determine the best approach to the digitisation of these records. The Monash team provides a unique combination of archival knowledge, with extensive specialist expertise in digitisation initiatives and standards, coupled with the cultural understandings and experience of working with Indigenous communities that can only be provided by First Nations experts
  • memorandums of understanding to support Commonwealth agencies to deliver on commitments identified in First Nations specific redress schemes, such as the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme, by providing reference services to enable access to archival records
  • collaboration with the Healing Foundation's Historical Records Taskforce, which the Director-General is a member of, to improve accessibility to records of importance for members of the Stolen Generations and their families.

National Archives also supports Australian Government agencies that design and implement policies and services that impact the rights and lives of First Nations people through its role in promoting and improving information management processes. Proper information management practices across the Commonwealth help to ensure that records of interactions that impact First Nations people are created and preserved for future transfer to National Archives.

Provide greater opportunities for all Australians to access arts and culture, including through a diverse range of exhibitions, programs, events and digital offerings

As a truly national institution with stories of Australia held in every state and territory, National Archives delivers public engagement activities and services for all Australians. These programs and services enrich our understanding of how Australia, as a contemporary, democratic nation, has developed. Our commitment to providing greater opportunities for Australians to access the national archival collection will be met through a diverse offering of onsite, off-site and digital programs.

Our national exhibition program draws extensively from the national archival collection to deliver exhibitions, and programs that highlight Australia's diversity. Upcoming exhibitions and displays include:

  • Dutch showcase at our National Office - Parkes, in November 2024
  • In real life: inventors and inventions in the National Archives at the National Office in May 2025 which will later tour nationally
  • Sea to suburbia at our Western Australia Office in May 2024
  • Camel trains and steel wheels at our South Australia Office in August 2024.

We deliver dedicated programs and services to the general public to support access to and use of a range of records relating to family and historical research. These records include immigration records, photographs, and audio-visual records.

Our commitment to scaled-up capability to digitise and preserve at-risk collections is evidenced through the Second World War Digitisation Project which commenced in July 2019 and will be completed by 30 June 2024. In total, over 852,000 Army and Royal Australian Air Force service records (20 million pages) will have been digitised and made accessible online through National Archives' online collection database, RecordSearch. Through digitisation we reduce the physical wear and tear on the original fragile and aging paper records. We also enable audiences from across Australia and the globe to view records that provide valuable and often poignant personal stories, as well as uncovered stories about broader aspects of Australian life and the connections between individuals, communities, businesses and the government.

Building our digital offerings will improve direct access to the national archival collection for more Australians. We will achieve this through continuous improvement of our processes, procedures and approaches to activities such as access examination, description and references services, which underpin and support access to the national archival collection. As custodians of the official record of the Commonwealth, we will continue to develop programs aimed at building digital literacy that will support users of our services and increase access to the collection online.

Our exhibitions, programs and events will reflect the diversity of the Australian people, creating affirming and recognisable experiences for people from all backgrounds. Supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach program (NCITO) and Visions of Australia, our touring exhibition program will allow us to engage with audiences in rural and remote localities around the nation and sees us working with other cultural institutions. We will use our national state and territory resources to develop and deliver public engagement activities and programs to support access to the national archival collection and the stories of Australia held within.

Engage in activities to enrich archival and cultural education at all levels

The national archival collection contains records about key events and decisions that have shaped Australian society, democracy and culture. Our programs and services are opportunities to educate, using engaging face to face and digital based content, about our democratic processes, our immigration and service histories and our First Nations experiences.

We will continue to provide engaging opportunities for learners of all ages, interests and backgrounds through our learning programs to share Australian stories from the national archival collection, including:

  • expanding curriculum linked experiences for school students and their teachers through programs that encourage and foster engagement with, and interest in, Australia's democracy as part of the Parliamentary and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) program.
  • continuing to support teacher professional learning by offering affordable accredited development programs.

Programs aimed at building democratic resilience will continue to be delivered to youth and non-traditional museum-going audiences.

Funding Commitment

The significant short-term funding boost of $36.5m over 4 years for National Archives is welcomed. This will allow us to deliver and strengthen our core functions to ensure Australian Government information of enduring significance is secured, preserved and accessible.

The $17.4 million over 2 years from 2024-25 will fund upgrades to National Archives' access and engagement technology platforms, and improvements to data storage. This will include replacing legacy systems not aligned with contemporary technology standards and work to modernise data storage solutions.

From the $19.1 million over 4 years from 2023-24 National Archives will ensure funding is responsibly prioritised by need within the allocation. The remaining funds will be used for uplifting capability to support digitisation of at-risk and high priority records, for improving public-facing digital tools in state and territory offices and improving digital storage solutions.

National Archives will ensure the $8.2 million per year ongoing from 2027-28 will support our financial sustainability, to ensure ongoing sustainment funding is responsibly prioritised and allocated. How this uplift is best utilised will be an outcome by the program management component of the $19.1m funding.

Information management

National Archives is pleased to see record keeping acknowledged as a key government priority. National Archives plays a key role in influencing Commonwealth professionalism through uplifting information management capability. The Building trust in the public record:managing information and data for government and community policy was developed by National Archives to help agencies improve how they create, collect, manage and use information assets.

We will undertake the following activities to support best practice in information management across the Commonwealth:

  • ongoing written and face to face engagement with Australian Government agencies, including web-based information management advice and focused communications campaign to increase agency engagement and implementation of best practice record keeping.
  • operating the Government Agencies Information Network (GAIN Australia), which includes regular forums and a monthly bulletin with updates of the information management related work of National Archives, and an Agency Service Centre where Australian Government agencies can contact National Archives for information management advice specific to their needs.
  • undertaking annual surveys to enable Australian Government agencies to measure their information management maturity, to identify gaps and improvements, and to analyse whole-of-government maturity with the aim of identifying areas for government improvement and creation of necessary advice and guidance to improve maturity.
  • working in partnership with Australian Government agencies to set minimum retention periods for Australian Government records to meet community and government needs and identify archival records of the Australian Government.
  • making available many of our governance documents on information management as examples for other Australian Government agencies.
  • partnering with the Australian Public Service Academy to develop a recordkeeping e- learning module targeted at APS staff, and a proposal to develop an e-learning module targeted at information management practitioners.

We acknowledge that we should be an exemplar in governance and reporting arrangements for our own information management. To that end, National Archives Information and Data Governance Framework sets out our practices in response to the Archives Act, the Building Trust in the Public Record policy, our internal policies and protocols including Our way: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protocols, whole-of-government directions including the Office of the National Data Commissioner's (ONDC) Foundational Four and the Australian Signals Directorate's (ASD) Information Security Manual and the Information Management Standard for Australian Government. The framework establishes roles and responsibilities applying to leadership and to all staff of National Archives.

Oversight of our information management is through our established information and data governance arrangements. Advice and reports against our program of work to improve enterprise-wide information and data governance are presented to the National Archives Executive Board.

Under the direction of the Chief Information and Data Governance Officer, the Information Governance section continually addresses emerging data risks and works with business areas to improve governance of the information and data they use in conducting their business. This includes a regular staff training program and a program of published advice.

Additional reporting

National Archives will meet the new reporting requirements to provide biannual updates about financial performance.

National Archives does not own any capital assets, however we will continue to maintain an accurate asset management plan for the maintenance and replacement of operational assets such as ICT assets.

National Archives Statement of Intent 2024 (PDF 264KB)